If ever there was a car where how it drives is completely beside the point, it’s the new Mercedes-Maybach S600.

Previously preserved for the plutocrats, the new Maybach is much more closely aligned with the S-Class on which it is based, in both price and positioning.

The earlier Maybachs, dubbed the 57 and 62 in reference to their length, began at $1million and went up from there, whereas the new model starts at a much more egalitarian $449,000.

Mercedes -Maybach -S600-rear

The premium buys you an extra 20cm of length, resulting in a car 5453mm long and with a gargantuan 3365mm wheelbase. The extra metal adds 300kg to the S600’s 2110kg kerb weight, the 0-100km/h sprint now taking 5.0sec.

But this is not a car for sprinting. Floor the throttle and the Maybach’s displays indecent haste, but the V12’s appeal lies more in its inherent smoothness and near-silent operation.

Mercedes -Maybach -S600-front

You can’t help but drive the Maybach smoothly. Everything about the car – the serene ride, the slow but linear steering, the tomb-like noise levels – encourages driver restraint, to the point that blasting Metallica’s ‘One’ through the Burmester 24-speaker stereo brings an attack of the guilts.

Bar extra helpings of diamond-quilted leather and some Maybach-specific trim options, up front the interior is fairly standard S-Class fare. That’s high praise in itself, as the current S-Class has arguably the best production car interior in the world, but it’s in the back that the Maybach displays its true talents.

Mercedes -Maybach -S600-interior

The front passenger seat can even be moved forward to allow the passenger-side rear occupant even more space. All the better to enjoy some chilled champagne, or don the custom headphones and enjoy a movie.

One small complaint is that there should be a separate remote to adjust the ventilation controls, as with the seat reclined they are a long way away, though as problems go that’s a first-class, never mind first-world, one.

Mercedes -Maybach -S600-rear -interior

Given the relatively small premium over the equivalent S600, we can see why, as no other car can match the Maybach’s rear-seat opulence, however MOTOR-heads will probably find more to appreciate in the tyre-smoking 430kW/900Nm S63 AMG.

4.5/5

Specs Engine: 5980cc V12, DOHC, 36v, twin-turbo Power: 390kW @ 4900-5300rpm Torque: 830Nm @ 1900-4000rpm Weight: 2408kg 0-100km/h: 5.0sec (claimed) Price: $449,000